suggestions: development environment

hiya folks!
I shall be working on implementing an extension to wscons,
incorporating a wstablet framework for better tablet support. I've
never really worked on code for system integration or kernel
development, so I'm curious what suggestions or notes you might be
willing to share in setting up a test/development environment for this
type of work.
I've a few ideas myself, but I'm curious what other, more
skilled/experienced folks have found working for them.
Thanks ahead of time!
~Jason
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